The Yaxchilán Lintels - painted structure

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Yaxchilán is a long-abandoned Maya city carved into the side of a steep hill overlooking the Usumacinta River in southern Mexico's state of Chiapas. Structure 21 lies in ruins while Structure 33 still stands, providing crucial information for its 3D reconstruction alongside detailed descriptions found in the Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions housed at Harvard University's Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology. In his initial visit to Yaxchilán in 1882, Maudslay reported that three intricately carved stone lintels were almost completely buried beneath debris. The following year, he dispatched a Guatemalan assistant to excavate them; today they are on display at the British Museum. Some experts believe these ancient artifacts may have remained in place until then, while others, like Maler, speculate otherwise. Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions, Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, https://www.peabody.harvard.edu/cmhi/detail.php?num=16&site=Yaxchilan&type=Lintel